Before the pandemic, financial services industry meetings and events were primarily hosted in-person, with event technology being used for event marketing, registrations, and ROI tracking, among others. This strong foundation of technology allowed for the easy adoption of virtual event technology, along with a new understanding of market needs, to host virtual events and conferences.
With the latest event technology, virtual events have now opened doors to new possibilities and allowed financial services institutions, who came out ahead in the virtual space, to make even further advancements in their event programs by including more virtual events as part of their total event program.
Financial services industry leaders are known to be specialists in their fields and know the intricacies of their business. It’s possible that this thorough approach was what helped financial services firms quickly adapt to the changing landscape of the pandemic.
When Fidelity Information Services (FIS) saw the pandemic directly impacting their sales pipeline, they knew virtual events were the best path forward. After transitioning their in-person event to a completely virtual experience, all in the span of eight weeks, FIS saw a 200% increase in attendance and had 49% more new and existing deals influenced during their event compared to the previous year’s in-person event.
Today, there are three key trends financial services institutions should keep in mind as they plan their future events and conferences.
1. Financial Services Data Privacy and Security Compliance
Cybersecurity is not a new concept for any industry, but with the onset of the pandemic and a spike in cyberattacks, vigilant data privacy and protection standards have become fundamental. A recent study by Forrester Consulting suggests 82% of financial services companies agree that their future in-person events will include more robust digital components.
With this in mind, there are new data privacy and security implications for companies to consider, including:
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Information Security: With events going digital, there is an influx in data collected and, therefore, potential privacy risks. Financial services firms must closely work with their IT teams to prepare for this new shift.
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Virtual Platforms: As companies add new virtual platforms to their event management strategies, IT teams must analyze every cybersecurity aspect along the way for data security.
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Streaming Tools: With virtual audiences becoming part of the larger mix, streaming technologies are indispensable and must be vetted by companies for data security.
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Digital Consent: As attendees share their data digitally, companies must ensure compliance with various data privacy regulations like GDPR, GLBA, and CCPA, among others, wherever relevant.
Pre-pandemic, marketers were figuring out ways to introduce digital best practices into events. These included using data to track attendee interaction and engagement, identify buying signals, and measure ROI.
With rapid digitalization, we believe events have now become digital marketing programs. Companies can see which sessions have the most visits, which booths are most popular at digital trade shows, etc. In future, these virtual events metrics will need to be measurable during in-person events as well in order to provide the same ROI insights.
According to Steven Shultz, head of SMM conference and event planning at Lincoln Financial Group, “The ongoing challenge is finding the proper balance by providing innovative and engaging solutions in a secure and engaging way that doesn’t disrupt the overall attendee experience.” To ensure they find the right balance between security and innovation, Schultz’s company has created a new Architecture Review Board to define their IT standards and policies and lead their technology review process. Check out this webinar to learn more about the new landscape of financial services live event programs.
2. Total Event Program: Identifying the Right Mix of Event Formats
There are three distinct event models in the total event program today: virtual events, in-person event, hybrid events. As financial services institutions work their way through the pandemic, industry leaders are trying to figure out the right mix of event formats for their total event programs. Here’s how various event types could fit into a complete event program:
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Small Meetings: These could be held virtually or in-person depending on travel restrictions and companies’ health and safety guidelines, but companies must focus on delivering the most relevant content to improve attendee engagement.
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Webinars: Webinars must focus on content delivery, building engagement, and leveraging the best technologies for lead tracking and measuring ROI.
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Conferences: Conferences went from being mostly in-person to mostly virtual in the past year. With governments easing travel restrictions, companies could look at a hybrid approach to retain the value of in-person networking with the content reach of virtual events.
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External Hybrid Events: These include conferences, tradeshows, and investor meetings, among others, and could be held primarily virtually with an in-person alternative or expansion wherever possible.
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Internal Hybrid Events: These could range from large team meetings and global townhalls to sales kickoffs and trainings. As many firms are still operating remotely, they could host their internal events virtually unless they’re back in the office.
With virtual events, financial services firms reached new, unique audiences that were previously untapped due to their remote locations. As in-person events return, one way to keep those virtual audiences along with in-person attendees is to utilize a hybrid event format.
As we move into the second half of 2021, hybrid events are slowly gaining traction. According to the Forrester study, while 57% of financial services institutions plan on hosting virtual events post-pandemic, 40% plan to go hybrid. In addition, 82% of respondents agreed or strongly agreed that all future events will include more robust digital components.
As hybrid events gain popularity and digital components continue to play an important role in event mixes, event planners must work diligently to ensure the attendee experience is consistent and engaging across all event models and platforms.
3. Evolution of SMM Programs
We believe that Strategic Meetings Management has never played a more important role than it does today. Firms that already had a robust SMM plan in place were far better prepared for the pandemic than the rest. As we entered 2020, SMM programs helped financial services institutions respond to worst-case scenarios as they became reality.
Companies could easily track upcoming events, contracts, forecasted spending, and associated risks and take action quickly. They could identify high-risk contracts early on and were better situated to renegotiate with vendors and inform stakeholders of postponed and rescheduled events. From a health and safety perspective, SMM was crucial in communicating updated plans with audiences and helping planners stay ahead of the game as guidelines continued to change overnight.
As meetings and events evolved in the past year, so have SMM programs to include new event types and priorities. In meeting request forms, financial services firms are now asking different questions, creating different benchmarks for spending, and budgeting for hybrid versus completely virtual or in-person events. Organizations are also investing a lot of time into adjusting their SMM policies to account for new event formats in their total event programs.
How Is the Financial Services Industry Futureproofing Its Events?
The pandemic forced event teams to abandon their traditional event planning and management methods, adapt quickly to workflow changes, and work with IT teams more closely than ever before. According to the Forrester study, most financial services firms now plan to align their marketing and event planners around common goals/KPIs to improve their ability to adjust team structures and workflow in order to pivot quickly as needs change in the future.
As digital events help us navigate through the pandemic, financial services firms must focus on choosing the right mix of event models, rethinking their SMM programs, and ensuring data privacy and compliance to futureproof their events strategy.
